Rosario to Dragon
by MasterofNarratives
Summary: Aono Tsukune is a young dragon, a member of the world's most powerful species of youkai. All his life, he has been led to believe that he is superior, that all other monsters are beneath him, but on arriving at Youkai Academy, he finds his worldview severely shaken. Can he be changed for the better?
1. A Dragon's Plan

_Disclaimer: _I do not own Rosario + Vampire. I do, however, own the specific type of dragon that I am using in this story, my OC (Tsukune's dragon father), as well as the plot elements that I haven't taken from R+V.

#~#~#~#

Aono Tsukune seethed with rage. His father had enrolled him at a boarding school called 'Youkai Academy' for a three-year period. It was a place run by the Dark Lord Tenmei Mikogami, with the purpose of teaching youkai to integrate with human society. Of course, it was ridiculous. He was a dragon, a member of the most powerful species on earth! He shouldn't even bother associating with the weak youkai that would no doubt infest the place, let alone humanity. The latter would be unavoidable in the end, he had to admit, but it could at least be done at a distance, as his father did.

Besides, all youkai hated dragons. They were powerful and often came across as arrogant, given their confidence in their superiority. Tsukune was the very embodiment of this – nobility born and raised, tutored by the finest mages, scholars and warriors his father could find, and fed through all his years on tales of the greatness of his race.

And now, this. He would have to attend a public school full of pathetic weaklings that would try to kill him if they ever found out who and what he was. More than that, the curriculum would no doubt be far behind what he had learnt.

All this he had argued to his father, but the elder dragon would hear none of it. Fuming, Tsukune recognized a lost battle and retreated to his pocket plane, a gift from his magic tutor, where he proceeded to comprehensively demolish the landscape as he hurled spells with wild abandon, lost in a rage.

#~#~#~#

When morning came, Tsukune was still angry, but he had worked off the worst of it and was planning how to make the best out of the situation as he walked through his father's luxurious lair. Youkai society was all about power. Combat prowess, social standing, the size of one's court and how influential you were. Obviously he would be superior at the school, but at first he'd have to deal with those who were stupid enough to think they were better than him. A beating or two might suffice, but would show him only as a brute. He had to be subtler.

On consideration, he decided that he would simply intimidate the lesser enemies, then play on their fear by offering them safety in the form of working for him. If he happened to run across something stronger – a vampire or werewolf, maybe – he might indulge in a fight. He'd win, of course, but it would be fun to toy with them. That should hammer home his superiority nicely. Afterwards, he could see about recruiting them to whatever gang he managed to start. He had no illusions, it would be a gang – at least at first. With time and effort, he could forge it into something greater, the core of his organization that would eventually cover the globe, allowing him to take his rightful place above all the lesser beings that cluttered the walks of life.

He smiled as he imagined purging the planet of all the weak and useless monsters that cowered in lowly, unassuming positions for fear of angering the humans. He wouldn't go up against the race of man directly – that way lay death. Even for a dragon, there were only so many shells, bombs and nuclear warheads one could withstand. Instead, he would work from the shadows, taking over without anyone realizing until it was too late.

Stepping up to the edge of a twisted ring of metal, Tsukune drew on his magic and linked it to the tunnel on Academy grounds. The world shuddered as he stepped through, and he snorted as he took in the overly gothic appearance of the Youkai Academy pocket dimension. It may have been a school for monsters, but a dead forest and a blood-red sea? That was taking it a bit too far. As for the gravestones…

"_**Coming through!"**_

A sudden shout from behind made Tsukune spin round. He saw a girl on a bike, pink hair flying behind her as she barrelled towards him at high speed. With a snort, he swept his left hand across, slapping the handlebars sideways. The girl went sprawling, her bike skittering across the ground and hitting a rock. It broke, a sharp piece of shrapnel leaping like a salmon from a river and slicing a gash across Tsukune's cheek. He snarled under his breath and chided himself for suppressing his power too much, leaving him vulnerable.

Glancing at the girl, he found her sitting on the ground, rather shaken. Rolling his eyes, he strode over to her and dropped onto his haunches, glancing over her. He had to admit, disguise or not, she was very good-looking. She looked up at him and he could practically taste the nervousness and fear.

"I… I'm sorry. I got dizzy because of my anemia…"

She tailed off and stared at him. Raising a hand to his face, he felt the blood on his cheek and quickly sealed the cut, but the damage was already done. The girl sniffed the air.

"Blood… I… I can't… I lose control when I smell that scent… I'm sorry, but…"

She lunged and bit down into his neck. Tsukune was too shocked to stop her, but his instincts kicked in and his blood was suddenly filled with hissing energy, blasting the girl away from him and sending her tumbling. She was burnt in several places and smoke was coming off her. Reining himself in, Tsukune swore under his breath and hurried over. The girl scrambled up, a terrified expression on her face, and started to run, but he caught her by the shoulder and pulled her back. She cringed and tears started to run down her face.

"I'm sorry! I… I lost control… I'm a vampire, you see… please don't hurt me any more…"

Tsukune could feel her shaking under his grip, and he sighed. He didn't know what was wrong with him. She had obviously deserved it, and he should have just let her run, but something inside him wouldn't allow it. He called up his magic, surrounding his free hand in a golden haze, and began to gently brush his hands over the burns, which healed as if they were never there in the first place.

The girl squeaked as he touched her, but quickly relaxed as the warmth of the magic permeated her system. As Tsukune finished, she managed to work up the courage to talk again.

"As I said… I'm sorry... I haven't had any blood in-"

Tsukune cut her off. "Stop apologizing. By all rights I should have done worse, and let you run. To attack me like that… but I'll let it slide this time. Besides, you evidently need blood."

Raising a finger, a vicious-looking claw sprouted from the end of it, three inches long and slightly hooked at the end, perfect for slicing through flesh and bone. Holding his other hand open, he dragged the claw across his palm, opening up a cut.

"Here. Drink."

He held out his hand to the vampiress, who blushed, but eagerly took hold of it and bent her head, pressing her lips to it as she sucked up his blood. She moaned softly as the rich, metallic fluid crossed her tongue. A devilish smirk crossed Tsukune's lips. While it would appear he was being generous and understanding, in reality this would simply further his plans. By giving the vampire his blood, she would become indebted to him. He knew that most youkai saw vampires as incredibly powerful and dangerous, so to have such a being on his side would be an asset.

After a few seconds, he pulled his hand away. The girl pouted, but didn't push her luck, remembering with a wince what had happened when she'd bitten his neck. Of course, she didn't really need any more – his blood was incredibly potent, unlike anything she'd ever tasted. Just those few mouthfuls could have sustained her for a month.

"Thank you… your blood is amazing! I've never tasted anything like it! You must be a really powerful monster… I'm sorry again for biting you…"

Tsukune chuckled, then immediately frowned at himself. Why was he laughing? Never mind, he could self-analyse at a better time.

"I already told you stop apologizing. I am as much at fault as you are; I should not have reacted so violently."

That wasn't right. He should have killed her for daring to try and drink his blood, but he had instead brushed it off and even offered her some of his own free will! As he tried to work out what he was doing, all such thoughts vanished as the girl smiled shyly and took a step forwards.

"Thank you… my name is Akashiya Moka. If you don't mind me asking… what do you think about vampires? A lot of youkai hate us…"

Tsukune laughed again.

"Aono Tsukune. And I have nothing against vampires in general. I know what it's like to be hated because of what you are… I would never put someone else through the same thing."

His voice turned bitter as he recalled his early childhood, being pursued by monster hunters and monsters alike. Always alone, never a friend to call his own. The unhappy memories were dispelled by Moka, who smiled at the first comment, then looked at him nervously after the second.

"Well… would you be my friend, then? I don't know anyone here…"

"Certainly. I suppose I'll see you after the entrance ceremony?"

Wait, what was he saying?! He didn't want friends! He was above that! But once again, the shock he felt at his own actions was brushed aside by Moka's smile.

"Sure! I'll see you then!"

By that point, the pair had reached the school and went their separate ways. Moka was all smiles as she practically skipped along the hallways, full of joy about having found a friend. Tsukune was scowling as he brooded over what he had said and done. Why had he given her his blood? Why had he agreed to be her friend? He knew it was a bad move, that such things were below him, but there was something about Moka that simply cut straight through all his logic, pride and planning. He sighed and accepted the inevitable. To go back on what he had said now would hurt Moka, and for some reason that wasn't something he wanted to do.

#~#~#~#

As Tsukune sat in homeroom, he looked around and measured up his classmates. None of them were particularly powerful, so he relaxed back and let himself drift off into daydreaming over how he would change the world. When his teacher came in and introduced herself – Shizuka Nekonome, some sort of cat youkai – he paid little attention beyond her name and noting her power level. She began a lecture on the importance of fitting in with humans, but was interrupted by a boy just in front of him who had the boneheaded idea of attacking the humans, and doing worse to the females.

Tsukune snorted, barely keeping back from a full-on laughing fit.

"Wow, you really are a moron. The humans outnumber youkai thousands to one, and most of you are so weak you couldn't take a single bullet. How many bullets do you think the humans have? No, direct force would never work. Instead, you rule from the shadows. Get a little money, invest it, wait a few decades – presuming you're strong enough to have a decent lifespan – collect the profit and repeat until you're rich and influential. Buy up shares and control companies, become the anonymous benefactor behind ambitious humans and lesser youkai. Let them take the heat while they dance to your tune."

He smirked.

"Of course, I doubt you could even figure out how to hold an instrument, let alone play one. The analogy is good, nevertheless."

Snarling over the top of the class's laughter, the boy began to stand, but was distracted by the door suddenly opening. Moka entered nervously.

"Sorry I'm late. I got lost after the opening ceremony…"

Ms. Nekonome smiled.

"Oh, that's fine. Just take a seat."

Moka moved towards the only empty desk in the room, but all the boys quickly erupted into chaos over the beautiful girl in their midst. The human-killer looked at her hungrily. Tsukune narrowed his eyes, and decided that some deterring action was required.

"Hey, Moka!"

She turned and caught sight of him, her face lighting up as she tackle-hugged him. It was only his inhuman strength that kept him from falling to the ground, and probably breaking a few ribs.

"Tsukune! We're in the same class!"

All the boys immediately started giving him death glares and muttering about how they were going to kill him.

#~#~#~#

At break, Moka was practically dragging Tsukune along, holding his arm as she ran, exploring the school. Everywhere they went, the boys gaped at Moka and glared at Tsukune, and he basked in their envy. This was as it should be: they were on the sidelines while he was in the spotlight.

The human-killer from homeroom suddenly stepped out in front of them, grinning unpleasantly at Moka.

"You are called Akashiya Moka, are you not? I am your classmate, Komiya Saizou. Tell me… what is a lady such as yourself doing associating with a powerless guy like this? I don't feel any youkai from him at all!"

So saying, he reached out to grab Tsukune by the collar and lift him off the ground. Tsukune calmly grabbed his wrist and broke it with a snap that echoed around the suddenly silent corridor. Retaining his hold of the damaged joint, he slowly forced Saizou's arm up behind his back. He had to admit he was mildly impressed at the boy's fortitude; he didn't so much as grunt as he was pushed to his knees.

"Perhaps, blockhead, the reason you don't feel any youkai is because we are in human disguise. If I couldn't hide my youkai, it wouldn't be much of a disguise, would it? Now, let me make this clear. You have already admitted you enjoy attacking human girls. I wouldn't put it past you to attack your schoolmates either. If I hear one word about you indulging your lecherous habits, I will ensure you never do so again. I doubt you know what castration means, so when you go to the hospital I suggest you have the nurse read the dictionary entry to you, because you probably don't have any friends to do so."

A final twist to the arm knocked Saizou to the floor. Releasing him, Tsukune turned and started walking away.

"Come on, Moka. We've got better things to do than waste time on this creep."


	2. A Dragon's Rejection

_Disclaimer: _I do not own Rosario + Vampire. I do, however, own the specific type of dragon that I am using in this story, my OC (Tsukune's dragon father), as well as the plot elements that I haven't taken from R+V.

I felt like writing, so you get a bonus Sunday chapter. I doubt this will be a regular thing, though.

#~#~#~#

As Tsukune strode away, smirking, Moka hurried to catch up. He rounded a corner into a deserted stairwell before stopping and looking back at his friend.

"You should watch out for him. He'll probably attack you next time I'm not around. Actually, talking of fights… why are you so weak? Vampires are supposed to be S-class, but I don't get anywhere near that sort of reading from you."

Moka looked down nervously, fiddling with the rosary that hung around her neck. The red gem set in the centre glinted oddly.

"It's this cross. It seals my powers, but when it comes off, I turn into an evil and _scaaaaary _true vampire."

Tsukune snorted.

"Moka, elongating a word doesn't make it any more intimidating. Asides from that, why would you ever wear such a thing if it made you weak?"

She blushed slightly, looking even more uncomfortable. Tsukune wondered if he'd accidentally insulted her, if vampires had some tradition or other about sealing their powers, then caught himself and wondered why he cared. It was really getting to be a problem.

"I can't take it off myself. I've had it for a long time. I was hated and caused conflict in my vampire form, so I put this on to seal myself."

A muscle tightened in Tsukune's jaw as she mentioned the hatred of vampires. He knew how that felt, but he couldn't afford to care too much about her. Forcing himself to dismiss it, he moved his attention to the rosary.

"A permanent seal? That _is _interesting... may I take a closer look?"

A shy nod brought him stepping in close, leaning over slightly to examine the jewellery in more detail. Shifting his sight into the magical spectrum, he suddenly found a second Moka overlaid on the one he knew, silver-haired with prominent fangs, though her eyes were closed and she appeared to be sleeping. Frowning, Tsukune began to extend his awareness into the intricate pathways of the spell, but then Moka's breath was hot on his neck and he could feel her wavering as she tried to keep control.

"Tsukune…"

He growled in frustration, but opened up a cut on his palm and let her drink as before. He pulled most of his youkai back – it wouldn't do to overfeed her. When he took his hand back, she sighed contentedly.

"You know, Tsukune, your blood really is amazing. It's so much stronger than anything in the transfusion packs, and the richness is incredible. I don't know why, but it's almost spicy…"

He winced as he realized his dragon nature was showing in his blood. As a red dragon, Tsukune was one of the strongest youkai, but also a creature of fire. He would have to be more careful in future. His self-scolding was interrupted as Moka carried on talking about how great his blood was. Rolling his eyes, he cut her off.

"What am I, food?"

She blushed slightly, and became rather more nervous.

"Well, actually… earlier, that was my first time. You're the first person I've ever fed from… even if it wasn't the neck."

Her blush deepened as Tsukune raised an eyebrow. Although he fought it, he couldn't stop a smile appearing on his face. He really had to do something about this. To care was to be vulnerable. He couldn't let himself care.

"It's nice to be appreciated, I suppose. Don't get your hopes up about the neck. That's something you have to earn, friend or not."

Moka nodded, looking slightly sad, but quickly brightened up. She turned suddenly and started moving, grabbing his arm once again and dragging him along with her.

"Come on, let's explore!"

#~#~#~#

Over the day, the pair covered most of the academy itself, though the grounds were still a mystery. Tsukune couldn't quite understand what was going on. His plans, his domination of the school… surely he should be working on that? Why was he wasting all this time running around with a sealed and therefore useless vampiress? Most of all, why was he enjoying it so much?

Every concern he had melted away into the mire of his disgust at the sight of the dorms. Just looking at the outside, he could tell the rooms would be small and basic, especially compared to the magnificent palace he had lived in with his father. His distaste evidently showed on his face, because Moka picked up on it.

"What, don't you like the dorms, Tsukune? Even though you're a monster? Come to think of it, what sort of monster are you?"

The final question made him freeze up in panic. He couldn't tell her he was a dragon. She'd hate him and run, or worse try to kill him, like all the others. As he struggled for an answer, she dismissed it with a wave of her hand.

"Oh, wait, letting anyone know is against the rules. Sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

Hiding his relief, Tsukune moved forwards for a better look.

"It's just rather… small and plain compared to home. The dining hall was bigger than this entire building."

What he didn't tell her was that, in actuality, so was his bedroom. To accommodate the vast size of a dragon, his father's lair had been the size of a city, a sprawling complex of lavishly-appointed underground rooms. Moka's jaw dropped.

"How rich is your family?! Mine is wealthy, but our manor would pretty much fit into a space that size! To have a single room like that..."

Tsukune grinned at her shock, basking in it as he considered just how much influence his father wielded.

"Very. In fact, we're richer than a lot of countries. Father is very, very old and has had a long time to become powerful."

Moka, stunned speechless, could only watch as he headed to his room.

#~#~#~#

The next morning, as he walked to school, keeping an eye out for Moka, he noticed Saizou leaning against a tree nearby. His arm seemed to be healed, which was irritating, but at least it showed the boy had some power. As Tsukune came near, the blonde-haired brute stepped out into his path.

"You caught me by surprise last time! You won't get away with it so easily now! It looks like you had a lot of fun with Akashiya Moka yesterday… and you're going to pay for it today! Show me your true form! Let's see what you've got!"

Elements of Saizou's monster shape were showing as his control began to slip. Tsukune snorted, and stepped up to the boy, determining his monster form with little more than a glance as he did so. He raised his hand, index, ring and little fingers pointing straight at the orc's chest, middle finger curled back against his thumb.

"You are a pathetic weakling. An orc has no chance to stand against me. I'll give you this one opportunity to swear your allegiance. If you don't, I'll show you exactly how useless you are."

Saizou responded with a swipe of his claw, which was all the provocation Tsukune needed. Just before it connected, he twitched his thumb sideways, releasing his middle finger into a flick that connected with the boy's sternum. A horrible crack filled the air, a shockwave slapped the ground, and Saizou went tumbling backwards in a symphony of breaking bone and tearing flesh before slamming to a halt against the wall. The horrible misshapenness of his chest left no doubt that his ribs were shattered, while both his legs and his left arm were pointing in directions they shouldn't.

Everyone gathered around the sudden fight went pale at the casual display of power. A low, rumbling growl emanated from Tsukune's chest as he stalked towards the broken orc, who feebly tried to get away even as his enemy stamped down on his broken arm, eliciting a howl of pain.

"Now then, you impotent hanger-on, let me explain to you what is going to happen. You will stay away from me, and you will especially stay away from Moka. If you try anything, I can promise you that this-"

Here, he ground his foot against the shattered arm, causing Saizou to scream again.

"-will feel like heaven compared to what I will do to you. My friend is off-limits, to you and to anybody."

The orc whimpered out an assent, and Tsukune straightened up, making his way to class through the white-faced crowd that scampered out of his way like sheep running from a wolf.

#~#~#~#

At break, he watched the other students from the roof, noting the patterns that seemed to develop naturally. Moka nervously approached from behind him, making him jump when she sat down by his side. He chided himself for being too inattentive, not noticing her until she was right beside him.

"Um… Tsukune… I heard about this morning… did you really threaten to kill Saizou if he did anything to me?"

Looking up, he smiled at her.

"Of course. You're the first friend I've made, and I'm not about to lose you to some rapist orc."

Moka beamed in delight, and suddenly hugged him. Tsukune sat paralyzed, unsure of what to do. He'd never been hugged before. After a moment, he slowly put his arms around Moka, and wondered why that simple act brought him so much happiness. When the vampiress pulled back, she seemed agitated, and kept opening her mouth as if to say something. Tsukune sat quietly and let her take her time.

"You know… you're the first friend I've made, too. I actually went to a human school all the way up through middle school. I hate humans… they bullied me… none of them believed in monsters. The only things worse than humans are dragons… some stupid red dragon with one eye nearly killed my father a while ago. But I met you, and now I'm not alone any more!"

She beamed at him again. A cold, dead weight settled in Tsukune's stomach. He tried to bring himself to brush it off, to ignore it, but he couldn't. He knew that he'd either have to lie to Moka forever, or leave. When it came down to the choice, he found that he couldn't bear either idea, but equally, seeing her every day and knowing she would hate him if she ever found out would be far worse.

He stood, and pulled off his blazer, then started unbuttoning his shirt with an expression of angry hurt on his face, and though he didn't realize how he looked, he did know that he should go as soon as possible to save himself even more pain.

"So you hate humans, and you hate dragons even more. I see."

Moka got up nervously.

"Tsukune… what are you doing?"

"Moka… if I told you… if I told you I was one of those dragons you hated, would you still want to be my friend?"

The vampiress stepped back in shock, an expression of utter disbelief on her face. Tsukune snorted quietly as he dropped his shirt, leaving his muscular upper body bare.

"No… Tsukune… that can't be true…"

"That expression on your face? That's why I'm leaving. Everybody hates dragons. Just like everybody hates vampires. I'm just saving myself the pain. I hope you find a friend you don't end up hating."

Leathery, reddish wings burst from his back, and with a single, powerful downstroke he soared off into the sky, heading for the tunnel. Moka's distraught cry echoed in his mind long after the sound itself died away.

"_**Tsukuneeeeeeee!"**_


	3. A Dragon's Argument

_Disclaimer:_I do not own Rosario + Vampire. I do, however, own the specific type of dragon that I am using in this story, my OC (Tsukune's dragon father), as well as the plot elements that I haven't taken from R+V.

I'm on a roll! Two chapters in a day!

#~#~#~#

As Tsukune flew over the dead forest, he wondered at the absence of the joy he usually derived from flight. Moka's call haunted his mind as he travelled ever further from her. He mused over the strange sort of pain he was feeling. It wasn't physical, which was what threw him. He'd only ever really had experience with physical pain. This new sort was something in his heart, something he couldn't pin down and flush out with a focused flow of youkai like the other type. He considered it, and found that it swelled significantly when he thought of Moka.

So, he didn't want to leave. But why? Logically, he should distance himself from her. She was sealed, so her vampire powers were useless. He had no reason to want her around, and yet he did. Just being near her made him feel happy, another foreign idea. He had only ever derived happiness from the satisfaction of a lesson learnt, a spell cast, a technique mastered. That and planning how he would take over the world.

He was still wondering when he heard her scream.

#~#~#~#

_A few minutes earlier_

Moka stood there, stunned, watching him fly away, out of her life. Even though she'd finally made a friend… thought she'd made a friend… he was gone. And it was her that had driven him away with her thoughtless comments about dragons. She realized that she was so far over the line that she couldn't even see it. What right did she have to make such statements when people said the same thing about vampires?

Her self-loathing only intensified as she thought about what she'd done. As he slowly shrank into the distance, she shook herself into action and rocketed down the stairs from the roof, sprinting as fast as she could into the forest, trying to catch up with him. She was almost within sight of the bus stop when a foot came from nowhere and tripped her up. A beefy guy stood over her, looking a lot like Saizou, though with browner hair. He smirked, and licked his lips.

"My brother was right… you're a pretty one. Pity he's in hospital… oh well. I saw your 'friend' fly over a minute or two ago. He'll be gone now… so I can have you all to myself."

He licked his lips again, and then a shudder ran through his whole body. The school uniform split as his youkai nature pushed to the fore.

"Ahh… I can't stop myself now. No way to stay in human form. I'm going to enjoy this little violation of the school rules."

As he moved towards her, prehensile tongue squirming in anticipation, Moka screamed.

#~#~#~#

The sight of an orc standing over Moka was enough to drive Tsukune into a rage. All his pent-up frustration over his own nature, the years of solitude, the hatred of his kind and, most of all, having to leave Moka went into one devastating punch. The orc's shoulder exploded in a burst of gore as Tsukune's fist ploughed through muscle and ligament, bone and cartilage, and exited the other side near-instantly.

The remnants of an arm hit the ground as Saizou's brother let out a scream, his orcish nature shutting off the pain receptors as he descended into a bezerk fury, even as Moka stared in shock at Tsukune.

"_**I'll have that girl if I have to kill her!"**_

He lunged for Moka. Tsukune did the same, reaching out to grab her and pull her to safety. A loose chunk of earth caught his foot, and he stumbled slightly, enough for him to miscalculate the grab. His left hand shoved Moka's shoulder, knocking her out of the way. That was good, but his right hand was not so lucky. His fingers caught in the chain of the rosary.

_Clink._

A moment of dead silence filled the air as Moka looked at Tsukune, Tsukune looked at the rosary in his hand, and the orc looked uncomprehendingly at the pair of them. Then all hell broke loose as a blast of youkai filled the air. Moka's hair turned silver, her eyes red with slit pupils, and her fangs extended. She became slightly taller and a little more full-figured, but it was her power that really caught Tsukune's eye. She was stronger than a lot of his teachers, which he hadn't been expecting.

The vampiress eyed the orc with a contemptuous expression.

"**Attacking me with this degree of power... you should know your place!"**

A brutal kick sent the orc tumbling, crashing through several trees. Tsukune raised an eyebrow as he stood, brushing himself off.

"**A low-class monster like you, who has nothing to show for his size, doesn't even make a decent opponent, let alone a good one."**

"Well… that was mildly impressive, I'll admit. A word of advice, though. Your guard was poor. An experienced combatant would have gone under the kick and taken out your supporting leg."

The vampiress turned to him with a slightly shocked expression on her face.

"**You criticize my skills? How dare you?! I am far more powerful than-"**

Tsukune snorted and flared his youkai, power flowing through him like a searchlight to Moka's candle. The silver-haired vampiress choked on her words and fell to her knees as if she'd been punched in the gut.

"I am Aono Tsukune, Red Dragon, son of One-Eyed Aono Hiroto. My power easily outmatches yours. I assume you've been asleep for most of the time you were sealed – you were sleeping when I saw you, anyway – but I'll tell you this: despite the fact that I am a dragon, I consider your outer self a friend, and I believe she thinks the same of me. I would ask that, for her sake, you at least try to get along with me, even if you don't wish to."

He stepped forward and offered his hand to help her up. The vampiress ignored it and staggered to her feet under her own power, but eyed him with a new measure of respect.

"**Thank you for your concern about my sleeping self. I would like the rosary back… I haven't awoken in a while and I'm still tired, but before I go… what do you mean, when you saw me?"**

Tsukune handed over the rosary, and considered his answer.

"Earlier, when I examined the rosary up close, I had a look at it in the magical spectrum, and I saw you overlaid on Moka… pink-haired Moka, that is. You had your eyes shut, so I assumed you were sleeping."

She frowned.

"**I see. Well, I'll have to ask you to take care of my other self. She's rather sentimental. It would break her heart if you left, you know. I need blood, so I suppose I don't want you to go either… though I could take it from another."**

Tsukune grinned.

"But how? You need me to let you out, because Pink can't do it herself, and I doubt you could convince her to attack anyone, even if she could find someone weak enough to overpower without your strength."

The vampiress gave him a look that suggested she was trying to decide whether or not to hit him, but simply sighed and reattached the rosary. Her appearance shifted back to pink-haired Outer Moka, who collapsed into Tsukune. He was so surprised he barely managed to catch her. Despite her apparent unconsciousness, she frowned and murmured:

"_Tsukune… don't go…"_

He shook his head with a weary smile as he gave in to the fact that he truly did care about Moka, that he considered her a real friend and that he wouldn't be able to bring himself to leave her.

"It's alright, Moka… I'm not going anywhere."

She sighed contentedly and relaxed into his arms. Picking her up, he began the walk back to the dorms.

#~#~#~#

By the next morning, the school was full of rumours about what had happened. Everyone knew that Aono Tsukune had practically killed Saizou with just a flick, and that he'd threatened a painful death if anything happened to Moka, but what had passed in the woods was a subject of much wilder speculation. The more sensitive among the students had felt Moka's unsealing, but everyone had noticed the wave of youkai Tsukune had released. The stories ran from the silly, like Tsukune having become enlightened, to the preposterous, such as his ascension to godhood.

Brushing off the muttering with an amused snort, he continued walking to school. A commotion quickly arose as Moka came along the path; as usual, all the boys were gaping at her. Watching their infatuation with a grin, he waved at his friend, who immediately grabbed his arm, as she did every morning, and started pulling him along. Tsukune revelled in the feel of all the death glares on his back. As Silver Moka said… they should know their place.

#~#~#~#

At break, the two of them sat on the steps of an outlying classroom, a rare deserted spot. It was all the harder to find a quiet moment now that Tsukune was known as a force to be reckoned with, because not only did they have to deal with Moka's fanclub, Tsukune was attracting challengers left, right and centre. He had already been in two fights. The first had been easy; he had simply backhanded the boy through a window. The second was a little harder, as his foe was extraordinarily agile, but a chaining spell soon solved that, fixing the girl in place for a blurringly fast barrage of punches that left her unconscious.

Now that they had found an empty spot, they could relax for a while. Moka fidgeted uncomfortably for a moment before turning to Tsukune.

"Tsukune… I realize it must be hard, being a dragon… I suppose I kind of know how it feels, being a vampire… but I'll be there if there's anything I can do. You came back for me, after all…"

She blushed a little. Tsukune smiled.

"I'll bear it in mind. And… of course I came back for you. You're my friend, even if we are members of the two most hated species on the planet, not counting humans."

He raised an eyebrow with a sarcastic grin. Moka scowled and punched him on the arm. Unthinkable that he would let her get away with it… but he did. Once again he realized just how badly he'd let his guard down. Oh well. There was nothing he could do about it.

"Moka… I need to tell you something. I already told Silver, but I don't think she picked up on it…"

"Silver?"

"The other Moka. You know, silver hair? That's why I call her Silver. I can't call both of you Moka, it would be too confusing. Anyway… you know you said your father was nearly killed by a dragon?"

Moka suddenly looked unsure, leaning back slightly as if getting ready to run.

"Well… that was my father. One-Eyed Aono Hiroto. He hates vampires with a passion."

The pink-haired vampiress stared at him in shock.

"Tsukune… why would you keep that from me?! Your _father _nearly kills mine, and you don't tell me along with letting me know you're a dragon? How could you keep that a secret? I thought you trusted me!"

"Moka, I do trust you, but this is the exact reaction I was afraid of-"

"Of course it is! Your family attacked mine! How am I supposed to believe that you don't mean me any harm? For all I know, your father sent you here to kill me!"

Tsukune stared at her in disbelief.

"I came back to save you. I threatened Saizou to keep him away from you. I stayed because you were my friend. Everything I have done here has been for you. And you **dare **accuse me like that?!"

Both of them were standing now, and Tsukune was growling deep in his chest. With a snarl of frustration, he turned and strode away.

"Very well! If you are so set on my being your enemy, I will accede!"

And with that, he was gone around a corner, leaving Moka standing alone. Her shock ebbed and she realized what she'd done. She'd driven him away again, the second time in only two days.

"Tsukune… come back…"


	4. A Dragon's Apology

_Disclaimer:_I do not own Rosario + Vampire. I do, however, own the specific type of dragon that I am using in this story, my OC (Tsukune's dragon father), as well as the plot elements that I haven't taken from R+V.

The words just keep coming… third chapter today!

#~#~#~#

Tsukune stormed through the forest, a constant growl rumbling in his throat. Any branches unfortunate enough to be in his way were snapped off by his passage as he once again left Moka behind. He wanted to go back, but his pride would not allow it. Not even for her. What she had said was too much.

As he neared a lake, he noticed someone collapsed by it, groaning softly. Frowning, he strode over. "Are you alright?"

The girl looked up. Tsukune snorted to himself. Every girl in the school had at least a mildly good-looking disguise, and this girl was no exception. She was extremely beautiful, and if he hadn't already met Moka, Tsukune might have considered her the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. "Please help me… I started feeling ill so suddenly…"

He sighed, helping her up, and started to lead her to the infirmary. She leant against him more than he judged she really needed to, pushing herself up against him in an attempt to use her impressive figure to her advantage. "Tsukune… look at me…"

Hearing his name instantly put him on high alert. He didn't know her, so she shouldn't know his name. He carefully looked down at her, to find her large, round eyes staring up into his. The world seemed to shimmer. "I'm Kurono Kurumu. Please, be my friend?"

She suddenly found herself flying backwards, face stinging from the vicious slap Tsukune had given her. "How dare you try to charm me?! I am above and beyond you, little succubus. To borrow a phrase from a friend of mine… you should know your place!"

"Tsukune!"

At a shout from behind him, Tsukune turned, to find Moka running towards him. He quickly reined in his anger, holding it close, but it still threatened to get away from him at the memory of what she had said.

"Tsukune, I'm sorry!"

As she got closer, he could see tears running down her face, and suddenly the anger was gone. He smiled gently, and put a hand on her shoulder as she reached him. She looked at him anxiously.

"It's alright, Moka. We all say things we don't mean when we're angry."

With a happy cry, the pink-haired vampiress threw her arms around him. An angry yell from the floored succubus broke their hug. "So this is why you were able to resist my charm! Fine! I'll just have to work around it!"

With a growl, she stormed off. Moka looked at Tsukune. "Who was that?"

"A succubus. Kurono Kurumu, I think her name was. She tried to charm me... idiotic, but I have to admire her nerve."

He sighed. "But that's not important right now. Moka… I'm sorry for not telling you about my father earlier, but the way you reacted was exactly what I was afraid of. I didn't want to upset you…"

"Tsukune, don't you think it would upset me more that you kept something like that a secret than that a member of your family who you have no control over attacked a member of mine? I accept that your father hates vampires, but I want to trust you."

"You _can _trust me, Moka. If I wanted you dead, don't you think I'd have killed you when you first tried to drink my blood?"

Suddenly, the rosary clinked and moved slightly. _What did he mean by 'friend'? I'm the one who says that._

Moka squawked in surprise, and Tsukune raised an eyebrow, looking down at the rosary. "What I meant, Silver, is that I consider you a friend. You are part of Moka, just as Pink is; you are both part of the same whole. I couldn't separate you with an axe. Pink is my friend, therefore you are too."

_You can hear me?!_

"You can hear her?!"

Both Mokas let out surprised exclamations at Tsukune's prompt response, and the rosary clinked again as the red gem moved to get a better view of him. He chuckled. "Yes, I can hear you. It's simple enough. The rosary seals Silver away by putting Pink over the top, so you share the same body, but the link between you is the rosary itself. I've seen and touched the thing, so I can link to it."

He glanced at the sun. "We've been out here too long. We should have been in class ages ago. Come on."

_Wait, I want more of an explanation!_

"Me too! Come to that, how is… Silver… even talking to me? She never could before!"

But Tsukune was already striding ahead.

#~#~#~#

At lunch, Tsukune took a visit to the bathroom, leaving Moka alone in the corridor. As she was walking up and down, someone dropped from the banister of the stairs to land in front of her. All the nearby guys immediately descended into chaos, clamouring over her beauty.

"So, Akashiya Moka… according to the rumours, you're a vampire. I am the succubus Kurono Kurumu… and I have come to defeat you."

"What – wait, isn't revealing your monster form against the school rules?"

"I don't care! I can't stand it any more! You are an eyesore in the way of my plan!"

"…plan?"

"I am a succubus! I am going to have every male in this academy eating out of the palm of my hand! I should have done so already, but they're all dreaming about _you _instead of me! That's why I've decided that I'm going to prove I'm better than you… I'm going to steal Tsukune from you!"

"What?! Leave Tsukune out of it, he doesn't have anything to do with this!"

"Oh, but he does, little miss vampire. When I got close to him earlier… his scent was incredible. Even just the smell of him was overwhelming. I bet his blood is delicious… you're using him as food, aren't you? When I take him, you'll starve."

"No! I'm _not _using him! I'm-"

Footsteps from behind heralded Tsukune's approach. The crowd that had gathered to watch the two girls fight suddenly dispersed as they realized who was standing there, and noticed the expression on his face. "So, tell me, succubus… what exactly are you doing?"

Kurumu turned at his voice, launching herself at him, only to be caught one-handed by the hair and held dangling off the ground. "I'll ask again. What are you doing?"

"Tsukune… please put me down… this hurts! I was only talking to her…"

With a snort, he lowered her to the floor, only to find himself instantly grabbed in a tight hug by the girl. Once again, she tried to use her figure to the fullest advantage, pressing herself against him. Moka was looking more agitated by the second. "Tsukune, please get away from that succubus! She'll eat you alive!"

Turning his head to look at her, he raised an eyebrow. "You drink my blood, don't you? I fail to see much difference."

As soon as he said it, Tsukune knew he'd made a serious mistake. Moka looked hurt, tears welling up, and after a moment, she ran off crying. Kurumu cheered and danced. "Yahoo! I won, I won!"

Tsukune cursed himself with every expletive he knew. He had committed the single stupidest act of his entire life. Lost in a private world of anger and self-loathing, he barely noticed when Kurumu grabbed his arm and started dragging him away from the main hallways. He only came back to himself when he realized he was in her room, being shoved down onto the bed. The succubus giggled.

"Now, I can complete my victory! I'll make you mine, and crush that vampire once and for all!"

Climbing over the top of him, she leant in, getting closer and closer. Tsukune was numb; he couldn't quite believe what was happening. Just as the succubus's lips were about to touch his, everything came back in a rush. With a roar, he shoved her off him and surged to his feet. When he started to shout, his furious youkai burned in every word** "How **_**dare **_**you?! You pathetic creature! Count yourself lucky I have more important things to attend to, or I would kill you, here and now, and make no mistake – it would not be quick."**

Exiting the room, he slammed the door behind him.

#~#~#~#

Moka sat on the steps where she had last had a quiet moment with Tsukune. She'd managed to stop crying, but she knew it would take very little to set her off again. "I wonder… what am I to Tsukune? Do I really just want his blood?"

The sound of flapping wings interrupted her thoughts. From above, the succubus divebombed down on her, claws outstretched. "You _damned _vampire! Even when he's lost you, he won't betray you! I'm going to kill you!"

Moka screamed, and barely managed to dodge the furious attack. Kurumu didn't let up, slashing viciously with her claws and opening up numerous cuts and gashes. She had Moka backed up against a tree and was winding up for a finishing strike when a terrifying roar stopped her dead in her tracks.

#~#~#~#

_A few minutes earlier_

Tsukune sprinted at motorway speeds as he searched for Moka. He didn't know where she was, but he intended to find out, and do the best he could to repair the damage he had caused. So far, his search had proved fruitless, but he was quickly narrowing it down. A thought struck him – could she be at their spot outside that classroom?

As he approached it, a scream confirmed his fears, and he rounded the corner to find Kurumu attacking Moka. He pulled on his youkai and released a little of his dragon form with a roar.

Now, he stood at around eight feet tall, thick musculature rippling under shining red scales. Wide, yellowy-beige armour bands covered his chest and belly. Claws adorned his hands and his teeth were sharp and pointed, clearly visible along the side of his dragonlike muzzle. Huge wings sprouted from his shoulderblades, and a spined tail from the base of his spine. His legs were jointed like a dragon's, with an extra, back-hinged secondary knee, and his feet had a prehensile digit each. It was a strange beauty – inhuman, but undeniable.

"**Get away from her."**

The boiling youkai that cascaded off him was more than enough to convince Kurumu that it was a fight she couldn't win. She backed away quickly. Tsukune strode over to Moka and healed her with a spell and a flick of his fingers, then put his hand to the rosary.

"**Moka, I'm sorry. I'll talk to you in a minute. Silver… I thought you might like to do this yourself, since you were the one she attacked."**

With that, he pulled the cross from Moka's neck and shrank back to human form. As he did so, Silver Moka emerged, her presence not anywhere near Tsukune's but still far more than most youkai could bring to bear. She smiled, nodded her thanks to Tsukune, and then charged the succubus.

"Silver, perhaps not too…"

Kurumu tried to block, but the kick sent her through several trees and landed her up against the trunk of an especially large one, bleeding and battered. Silver stalked forwards, a predatory grin on her face.

"…hard. Alright, that's enough."

The vampiress frowned as Tsukune stepped between the two women. **"She attacked me! She deserves much more! I am going to rip her wings and tail off so she can never fly again!"**

Behind him, Kurumu started crying. Tsukune snorted. "And then what? Will you mutilate everyone that crosses you? I don't think that's a route you want to go down. Besides… Kurumu is only doing what's expected of her. She's a succubus, isn't she? Succubi are supposed to enslave men. I don't think she's actually a bad person."

The crying was replaced by a gasp. Silver snorted. **"Fine. But I'll warn you… if you ever dare say something like what you did to the other me again, I will find a way to kill you."**

Tsukune nodded. "I will deserve it."

Clipping the rosary back into place, Silver fell forwards into Tsukune's arms, changing back into the pink-haired version of herself. A moment later, she tensed and looked up. Her eyes were still full of hurt and sadness, but there was hope too. Tsukune cleared his throat awkwardly. "Moka… what I said was wrong, in both senses of that phrase. I should never have said that to you, and also… there is a big difference between her trying to draw on me and you drinking my blood."

He stopped, collecting himself for a moment, before bringing one hand up to his neck and drawing aside his collar. "The difference is… I'm more than willing to give you my blood."

Tilting his head sideways to expose his neck, he eyed her worriedly. She stared back with shining eyes. "Tsukune…"

As she buried her fangs into his neck, he reflected that it was a small price to pay for her friendship.


	5. A Dragon's Club

_Disclaimer:_I do not own Rosario + Vampire. I do, however, own the specific type of dragon that I am using in this story, my OC (Tsukune's dragon father), as well as the plot elements that I haven't taken from R+V.

This is probably the most writing I've ever done at one time… fourth chapter today!

#~#~#~#

The morning after the Kurumu incident, Moka seemed troubled. She walked in uncharacteristic silence for the duration of their trip to school. By the time they got to homeroom, Tsukune decided he'd had enough. Taking Moka's arm, he drew her aside. "Alright, what's wrong?"

"Tsukune… you know Silver started talking to me… us… through the seal?"

"Yes, of course."

"Well… what if that's because the seal's weakening? If… if it broke… would you still like me?"

He laughed. "That's what's been bothering you all morning? Good grief, Moka. Didn't I say before? Silver or Pink, it doesn't matter. You're both you."

Moka smiled shyly, and seemed about to say something more, but was interrupted suddenly by none other than Kurumu. "Good morning, Tsukune! Oh, and Moka."

She shot the other girl a poisonous look as she tacked her name onto the end of her greeting. Tsukune noticed, and carefully stepped between the two, turning to the succubus. "Kurumu… what are you doing here?"

"I'm in your class! Don't tell me you never noticed me?! Anyway, I made cookies! Would you like to eat some with me?"

Moka frowned. "Why are you making cookies for Tsukune?"

The succubus giggled. Tsukune instantly became wary; it wasn't a good sign. As it turned out, he was all too right.

"Oh, well, you know what Tsukune said yesterday about it being in our nature to enslave men? Well, the reason for that is to find our Destined One, our true mate. And I've decided that it's Tsukune! He risked his life to save me!"

Tsukune swallowed nervously as the two girls tried to stare each other down.

#~#~#~#

In homeroom, Sensei Nekonome made an unexpected announcement: everyone would be expected to participate in a club. Apparently it was part of learning to integrate with humans. Tsukune found it laughable, but it was probably better to go along with the notion than spend all the effort required to get out of it. With a sigh, he resigned himself to the loss of free time. Nekonome mentioned something about how understanding humans led to a better disguise, and then some idiot in the front row made a joke about how she must not understand humans, pointing out her tail. He left class shortly after to get some rather impressive scratch wounds treated.

He had to admit, though, that the club exhibition was impressive. The school was chock-full of stands and demonstrations. Moka didn't have much of an idea about which club to join, and neither did Tsukune, so they decided to simply look around. Fortunately, they'd managed to give Kurumu the slip, at least for a while, so they could do so in relative peace.

Of course, they still had to deal with the various strange, creepy and sometimes downright disgusting individuals who tried to recruit them. The Phantom Photography Club wanted to take some rather inappropriate pictures. Their leader found that being a ghost did not stop Tsukune punching him in the face. The Chemistry Club received a similar reaction as soon as they brought up love potions. Things continued in the same vein for a while, until the Swimming Club showed up.

"Hey, you're Akashiya Moka and Aono Tsukune, right? I'm Tamao Ichinose, the Club Captain. Why don't you join us?"

Behind her was a gaggle of swimsuit-clad girls. All the boys immediately started clamouring to join, but the captain kept her attention on Tsukune and Moka. The vampiress looked uncomfortable, and Tsukune didn't feel any better. He made a regretful face. "I'm sorry, but neither of us get on well with water. I'm afraid we'll have to decline."

Tamao frowned. "Come now, surely it can't be that bad? What's wrong with water?"

Tsukune snorted. "Fire type youkai. Vampire. Does that answer your question?"

He pointed first to himself, then Moka as he spoke. The captain scowled, and walked away without another word. The club followed, and behind them came the flock of infatuated boys. Tsukune rolled his eyes. "Come on, Moka. Let's find something a little more doable for the both of us."

Smiling at him gratefully, she took hold of his arm and for once let him lead the way through the seething crowd. It was surprisingly difficult to find something for the both of them. A lot of clubs had questionable intentions, and there was no way Tsukune would let those near Moka. Some of the others, such as the martial arts clubs, would only have been good for him, and he wasn't leaving his friend behind (Silver liked the idea of joining a martial arts club, but Tsukune reminded her that she was only half of Moka and had to consider Pink.) By the end of the day, they still hadn't managed to decide.

#~#~#~#

On their way back to the dorms, they passed near the pool. Instead of the laughter and idle chatter they expected, however, screams and shouts mingled with desperately splashing water. Sharing a look, the two decided to investigate.

When they reached the fence around the pool, both of them stopped dead in shock. The Swimming Club girls were all mermaids, and now that they had a group of boys in the water, they were hunting them down and draining their youkai one by one. Tsukune snarled and started to rip the fence open, but Moka stopped him. "Tsukune, we can't go in there! I'm a vampire, and… well, I didn't know you were weak to water, but it kind of makes sense, given that you're a red dragon…"

Tsukune grinned. "Weak? I never said I was weak to water. I said I didn't get on with it."

Leaving Moka looking at him questioningly, he tore the fence apart and walked calmly up to the pool before stripping down to his boxers. The mermaids quickly left their current prey and swam towards him, though they held back from the edge. The Captain swam closer, coming right up to the side of the pool and smiling up at him. "So, you decided to join? Or are you here to stop us harming them?"

She laughed. "It's a pity you're a fire youkai, and weak to water, or you might have had a chance."

This time, Tsukune roared with laughter, leaving the mermaids puzzled.

"Oh, you idiots. Did I ever say I was _weak _to water? Do you know what happens when you heat water over a fire?"

He grinned sadistically. "It _boils_."

And with that, he stepped into the pool. As soon as he touched the water, it started to hiss and steam. Within seconds, the water near him was bubbling, and soon the whole pool was too hot for the mermaids to bear. They threw themselves onto the paving around the edges, flapping like beached fish. Tsukune was glowing from within, an orange light burning in his chest and refracting in shimmers through the pool. A similar, smaller glow blossomed in all the unfortunate victims, and on close inspection, a tiny thread of orange connected their lights to Tsukune's, protecting them from burning. He grinned again. "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the pot. I believe that's the human saying. So now that you're out… what do I do with you?"

Raising a hand, his claws extended slowly, glinting viciously in the evening sun. The mermaids quailed as his teeth grew long and sharp. "I've always been partial to a fish fillet…"

"Tsukune! That's enough!"

Glancing over, he saw Moka entering through the gap in the fence. She was looking at him sternly.

"They've learnt their lesson, I'm sure. We can leave it at that."

_You stopped me mutilating the succubus. It would be hypocritical of you to ignore Moka now._

Tsukune sighed. "I suppose you're right. Besides, what chance do I have against _both _of you in an argument?"

That statement left the mermaids puzzled, but they thought they had the answer when Kurumu appeared. They were wrong, of course, but Tsukune wasn't going to correct them when he had been provided such a convenient reason for his slip of the tongue in front of them. The succubus looked down at him standing in the pool with a smile as her eyes roamed his muscular figure.

"Wow, Tsukune. I had my ideas, but you're even better-looking than I thought…"

"Hey, Tsukune! Come out of the water. You might not be that vulnerable to it, but you're still a fire-type. It will chill you eventually."

The evening rapidly deteriorated from there, with Kurumu trying to seduce him into going back into the pool with her, Moka trying to get Kurumu to stop and Tsukune to pay attention to her instead, and Tsukune just trying to relax. However much he asked, told, scolded or even pleaded with the pair, their incessant bickering continued. Finally, he snapped, drawing his youkai up into his voice to lend it some punch.

"**Both of you, **_**shut up**_**!"**

They complied.

"**Thank you. Now then… Moka, I need to talk to you. Kurumu, please go and find something else to occupy yourself."**

With his youkai lending a powerful, growling compulsion to his voice, even Kurumu couldn't bring herself to argue, and slunk off. Tsukune let out a sigh.

"Finally. Alright, Moka… I wanted to tell you a little more about dragons."

She nodded nervously. "If you like…"

"Well, I'm a Red Dragon, as you know. We are the strongest kind, and grow to the largest size, as we never stop growing. Our elemental affinity is fire, but our nature means that we alone of the dragons aren't weak to our affinity's opposing element. A Red Dragon's fire comes from inside, in the core. The only way to damp that fire is to either completely exhaust our youkai or to force us to inhale water. Drinking is fine, swimming is fine, but if we inhale water it will also go down the fire duct. That's a bad thing for a Red Dragon, because once the fire is gone, it can never be relit. It's very hard to extinguish, but there's no going back once it happens. That's the tradeoff for our resistance to water. And there's more to it than just breathing fire – a lot of a Red Dragon's power comes from their fire. If you lose your fire, at least two thirds of your strength is taken with it."

Moka frowned. "I remember when your father attacked, he never breathed fire. Does… does that have something to do with why he hates vampires so much?"

Tsukune winced, and Moka knew she'd got it right. "Yes, it does. A few thousand years ago, there was a powerful vampire who discovered a charm to protect himself from water. Wearing this charm, he attacked my father and lured him into the river. Thinking he'd backed the vampire into a bad situation, my father charged, and the vampire nearly drowned him in the river, taking his eye out in the process. My father has never forgiven the vampire race."

The pink-haired vampiress was stunned by this story, but even more so by the implications. "So… if your father lost two thirds of his power in that fight… then when he nearly killed my father…"

Tsukune nodded. "Yes. He was weak compared to his prime. And he let your father live. He's told me the story… four scars. One on your father's face you'll know of. One on his neck probably also. The other two I doubt he's shown you. One through his chest and one through his gut. My father left those scars as a reminder of the superiority of dragons, or so he says. Personally I think it's because he likes making people seem inferior."

He sighed. "Back on topic… now that you know a little more about me, hopefully you'll be able to understand why I act the way I do sometimes. I was raised in the knowledge that I was superior. I was trained by the best, and I never wanted for anything except a friend. Now that I've got one, I'm starting to see that the rest was not as it seemed, but… I'm still unsure. And secondly… I suspect that Father might still have that charm. It's the sort of thing he'd have taken as a trophy. If you like, I could look for it next time I'm back home."

Moka stared at him with shining eyes. "Would you? That would be… amazing. No vampire in recorded history has ever found a way around the water problem that doesn't require prior preparation, either with herbs or blood, which is no good in a fight or an accident. To have such a charm… I'm sure that it would make a good enough offering even to bridge the gap between our species for you, but… I couldn't ask you to take something like that from your father."

"Moka, you don't _have _to ask. You're my friend, and I want you to be safe."

"Thank you, Tsukune!"

She grabbed him into a hug, but quickly started nuzzling at his neck. Sighing, Tsukune tilted his head and pulled his collar aside.

#~#~#~#

By next morning, the club situation was dire. Moka and Tsukune still hadn't found one that met both of their requirements. They stood off to the side of the square that sat in the centre of the school, frantically discussing what they were going to do. They were so absorbed in their problem that they didn't notice Nekonome approaching until she was right next to them.

"Haven't you two decided on a club yet?"

Tsukune sighed. "No, sensei. We haven't been able to find one that works for both of us."

"Excellent! Why don't you join the Newspaper Club?"


	6. A Dragon's Righteousness

_Disclaimer:_I do not own Rosario + Vampire. I do, however, own the specific type of dragon that I am using in this story, my OC (Tsukune's dragon father), as well as the plot elements that I haven't taken from R+V.

Good grief! My fifth chapter in one day!

#~#~#~#

As dawn broke, Tsukune considered what he knew of the Newspaper Club, which was very little. He'd heard that almost nobody wanted to join it, partly because of the fact that it was run by Sensei Nekonome, who was known for being crazy even by the standards of Youkai Academy, but also because of the Public Safety Commission. He was on firmer ground with them – his father had researched them before sending him here, and said that it seemed like an excellent organization for him to join. By this, of course, he meant that it was corrupt and effectively just another gang, except one that wielded authority. The old Newspaper Club had published some rather unflattering material about the PSC, and the crackdown had been hard.

His father had wanted him to join the PSC as soon as he arrived, but Tsukune didn't want to place himself under the authority of another unless he absolutely had to. The teachers were bad enough, but thugs and bullies? Never. If he ever joined the PSC, it would be as a coup of authority from its leader.

With a sigh, he got out of bed and prepared for his first day at the club, turning the shower up as hot as it would go. As a Red Dragon, no amount of heat could harm him, but an unfortunate side-effect of this resilience was that even the hottest shower felt barely lukewarm. He wished that, just once, he could really enjoy a hot shower.

#~#~#~#

The morning went predictably. Kurumu grabbed him and tried to pull him into her chest. Moka and Kurumu had their usual stare-off. What he hadn't been expecting was that they would be the only members of the Newspaper Club. He knew it was unpopular, but not that much. Moka was similarly put out. "Sensei… are we the only members of this club?"

The cat youkai smiled. "Don't be silly! See, here he comes now, the other member!"

A tall guy came in through the door. His long, unkempt black hair was held back by a band, and a camera was slung around his neck. Two bouquets of roses were in his hands. Tsukune growled softly as he recognized Morioka Ginei, one of the biggest perverts at the Academy. The sleazy smile he wore as he introduced himself only confirmed Tsukune's opinion. "Greetings. I'm the president of this club, second-year Morioka Ginei. You can call me Gin, or even Gin-chan if you like."

Nekonome looked at the clock and squeaked. "I have to go! Bye now! Make friends with your senpai, okay?"

Looking at the closing door, Grin grinned. He sauntered towards Moka and Kurumu, and was about to offer them the flowers when Tsukune snapped his fingers and burnt the bouquets to ashes.

"Let me finish that introduction for you. Morioka Ginei, Youkai Academy's biggest pervert and playboy. I suggest you keep your disgusting habits, and _especially _your camera, away from my friends."

The cocky attitude wavered under Tsukune's cold glare. "Whoa, dude, lighten up. A guy's gotta do what a guy's gotta do, you know?"

Gin's comment only made the temperature in the room drop further. Tsukune let out a full-on growl, and Gin, even in human form, felt his fur stand on end. Every single one of his instincts was telling him, as loud as they could, that this guy was bad news. "Let me make this clear, Morioka. If I find you indulging your perversion on my friends, so much as _once, _you will wish you hadn't, werewolf or not."

Tsukune had to admit, he felt a little sorry for the guy. To be so thoroughly shot down before he'd even got started, and to have his monster form exposed so easily, had to be disheartening. He was surprised at how quickly Gin perked up, but the reason became clear soon enough…

#~#~#~#

"Higher, Moka. Kurumu, you too. We want maximum visibility for those posters."

After talking for about five minutes, and actually giving a pretty good speech, he had ruined it with the simple pair of sentences "Just messing with you! Let's have some fun without all the strict talk" before proceeding to instruct the girls to climb up on some desks and put club posters up on the walls. For some reason, he kept telling them to go higher. Both the girls were now on tiptoes.

Gin had a suspicious smirk on his face as he casually sat back on his haunches. After a moment, he glanced up at the girls, watching them. Tsukune frowned as the older boy's smile widened. As he traced Gin's line of sight, he realized what was going on.

"**Morioka, you disgusting excuse for a monster, I know exactly what you're doing and if you don't stop it I will put you in the hospital!"**

He hadn't meant to put his youkai into the shout, but he'd been so angry that it flared up without his conscious direction. The pressure of his presence hammered into the werewolf and sent him cringing back.

"Sorry! Sorry! I'm sorry!"

His head was dipped, and from the movement of his muscles, his ears would be down if he were in werewolf form. Tsukune grinned at his submission. Moka and Kurumu turned in shock, staring at the pair of them. "Tsukune? What's going on?" "Yeah, what's he doing that's got you so angry?"

Tsukune growled as he struggled to control his temper and to keep his dragon form in check. If he lost control here, he'd demolish the school.

"**That pervert was looking up your skirts. That's the reason he had you putting the posters up so high. I'd be punching him now, but I thought you might want to do it yourself."**

Kurumu snarled, sharp nails extending, as Moka gasped and went red. The succubus advanced threateningly on the werewolf, who cowered back, still filled with fear by the horrible presence emanating from Tsukune. Moka was so embarrassed she didn't know where to look, and her hands were clamped down on her skirt so hard it was a surprise she hadn't ripped it.

Seeing Moka's utter discomfort allowed Tsukune to rein himself in, pulling his youkai back. He hurried over to Moka. "Are you alright?"

She nodded, blushing even more. "It's just so embarrassing…"

Yelps began to sound from across the room as Kurumu laid into Gin. The werewolf tried to get to the door, but was blocked by the succubus's wings extending. Paying them little more attention than a glance, he turned back to Moka. "I understand. I don't think there's much I can do, but I'll certainly be keeping a very close eye on Gin in the future."

He glared at the werewolf, who was bleeding from several nasty cuts as Kurumu stomped back towards Tsukune, huffing to herself in indignation. "I can't _believe _his nerve. Thanks for catching him, Tsukune!"

Moka smiled. "Yes, thank you Tsukune. I have to say, the way you scared him was pretty impressive. If I didn't know you were on my side, I'd have been terrified."

Tsukune chuckled ruefully. "Well, that will be a small comfort when all the new rumours start going around."

#~#~#~#

By the next day, as Tsukune had predicted, rumours were abound about why there had been such a huge surge of youkai. Somebody had seen Gin running away, trailing blood, and pretty soon there were stories about an epic battle between Tsukune and the werewolf. People speculated wildly as to what his true form was. He heard some pretty funny ideas, but his nervousness grew quickly, because Kurumu was watching him with narrowed eyes every time she heard someone mention his true form.

At break, she managed to get him away from Moka by the simple expedient of dragging him away while the vampiress was in the toilet. When she had him alone, she backed him up to a wall and stared at him with a determined expression. "Alright, what are you? There's all this speculation about your true form, and then I remembered when you stopped me killing Moka the other day… you changed back so quickly that I'd almost forgotten, but…"

Tsukune blew out a breath. He'd been afraid of that. A quick scan of the area with his youkai confirmed that they were alone. He knew he'd have to tell her eventually, so he decided to simply get it out of the way. "Kurumu… I'm a dragon."

"What?!"

"I'm a dragon. A Red Dragon, to be precise. The strongest kind. That's how I was able to resist your charm, how I nearly killed Saizou with just a flick, how I can use my youkai as I do… well, you haven't seen much of that yet, but if I ever get the chance to do some magic, I think you'll be impressed."

He sighed. "That is, if you decide to stick around. Nobody else did, at least until I met Moka."

The succubus snorted. "Please. Don't you think I know what it is to be discriminated against? 'Oh, she's a succubus, she's just an object there for the taking.' 'Oh, it's what she does, she won't mind if I take what I want'. The number of times people have held my nature against me, what right do I have to judge you? I admit I'm shocked, but then I suppose dragons have to go to school somewhere."

Tsukune let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, and swept Kurumu up in a hug. The gesture surprised him as much as it did her, and all he could think was 'What am I doing?'. However, he quickly recognized the same thing that had happened with Moka. He'd made another friend. He sighed inwardly. Two was still manageable.

"Tsukune…"

He realized that he was still hugging Kurumu, and that Moka had tracked them down. Letting go of her hurriedly, he straightened his blazer with an awkward cough.

"Ahh… Moka. If you're wondering about… the hug… I just told Kurumu what I am. She decided to stay."

The vampiress blinked in surprise. "Really? You trust her that much?"

_I agree with Pink. I don't think that was wise._

Tsukune groaned softly. "Look. Kurumu is my friend. Much to my surprise, she has remained so even after knowing that I'm a dragon. As far as I'm concerned, that proves I was right to trust her. If you don't like that, please feel free to watch her. I can't stop you."

He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. "If you'll excuse me, Gin wanted to meet me about now. Alone, for some reason."

"But Tsukune-"

"You know you can't trust-"

Tsukune cut them off with a raised hand. "What can he really do to me? He might be S-class, but I'm a dragon. I'll be fine."

#~#~#~#

"So, Gin, what was it you wanted? And why are we in this alley?"

The werewolf smiled, toying with his camera. "Just take a look through that window."

Tsukune glanced towards the opening in question. His sharp hearing easily picked up the sounds of chattering girls and rustling fabric coming through it. He chuckled lightly. "And get myself in trouble for peeping? Get you off the hook and me onto it? I don't think so. Instead… I think I'll expose you for what you are."

A flash of motion, so fast that he blurred, took Tsukune behind the werewolf. His fingers targeted exactly the right spot, as he had been trained, and as he had practised so many times. Gin blinked in surprise, then collapsed unconscious. Pulling out a pen and some paper, Tsukune started writing.

#~#~#~#

By lunch, the rumour was all over the Academy. Morioka Ginei had been found, unconscious, in the alley behind the girl's changing rooms with a note taped to his forehead after a mysterious knock on the window. Nobody had been seen anywhere near the area, and it was a mystery how it had happened, but the fact remained that it had. The note, more than anything, had been the cause of the excitement.

_Girls of Youkai: my apologies for the unscrupulous behaviour of this felon. I noticed him entering this alley and followed him, to find that his intent was to spy upon your changing area. I rendered him incapable of doing so. Feel free to exact whatever revenge you wish._

_-T_

This mysterious 'T' person was quickly lauded as a hero, though there were some who questioned what he had really been doing in the alley. By the time Gin woke up, the damage was done, and irrevocably so. Everyone knew he was a pervert, and everyone was on their guard around him. He quickly kindled a burning hatred for Aono Tsukune.

Somehow, he would have revenge, and if it involved his little girlfriends, then so much the better.


	7. A Dragon's Rescue

_Disclaimer:_I do not own Rosario + Vampire. I do, however, own the specific type of dragon that I am using in this story, my OC (Tsukune's dragon father), as well as the plot elements that I haven't taken from R+V.

It's chapter 7, and it's 50% longer than usual! Enjoy!

Do you like the fight scene at the end? Please let me know so I can decide how to approach such things in the future.

#~#~#~#

Gin fumed. Everywhere he went, girls gave him dirty looks, and he'd had to avoid more than a few disgruntled boyfriends. Watching Tsukune from the shadows, he noticed how the two girls seemed to always hang around him. The succubus was obviously infatuated, but the vampire was a more difficult study. She often drank his blood, and he didn't seem to be under any sort of compulsion or obligation, which was strange – normally, no monster would willingly bare their neck to a vampire. That would seem to point to a connection, but the pair of them always acted normally around each other, and even a little awkward and bashful. Not so the succubus, who would throw herself at the boy given the slightest opportunity.

That particular day, the results of the latest tests had been posted. Moka was thirteenth, something that Tsukune found rather amusing, given the 'unlucky' connotations of the number and the obvious fact of her vampirism. He himself had come a way below, in sixty-third. He was reasonably pleased with that result – he'd never been incredibly academic, and his magic was based more on imagination and force of will than intelligence and memorisation of formulae. He was abnormally proficient in certain, specific areas – coordination, tactics, and other such martial skills, as well as a sharp cunning and business sense (in this, he was even better than his father, one of the reasons he had been in on all the man's business meetings) – but overall he'd always thought of himself as fairly average, never being able to intuitively grasp mathematics or sciences the way he had combat and magic.

The name of the student in first place was surprising. Sendou Yukari, an eleven-year-old witch who had been accelerated up through the system due to her genius. Her parents were one of the many youkai who had been involved in deals with his father in the past, and their daughter's proficiency had prompted his father to inquire in more detail, filing the information on her as a possible future asset.

Even as he contemplated this coincidence, the girl in question was in a rather nasty predicament. Her class representative and a few of his cronies had cornered her and started to bully the young witch. Boundary Beings were not popular, as they could easily be seen as a mix of human and youkai. She was no exception, and her age and precocity only made her more of a target. Before he had even noticed, Moka was already standing between the bullies – lizardmen, he noted – and the young witch. They glanced around, deciding that there were too many witnesses, before stalking off. Tsukune ambled over to find Yukari already in the middle of a gushing torrent of thanks.

"Ohh, thank you so so much! You really saved me!"

Moka smiled. "It was nothing. Besides, you shouldn't be picked on like that! Only 11 and already top of the year! You're really cool, Yukari!"

Blushing under her hat, the girl waved her hands in hurried dismissal. "No, you're the one who's cool, Moka! In fact, I… I… I love you, Moka!"

Tsukune nearly choked as the little witch launched herself at his friend, practically squealing in delight. "Every time I saw you in that classroom across the hall, I fell in love with you a little bit more, but after you saved me… my heart was captivated! Please go out with me!"

The pink-haired vampiress was at a complete loss, and no help came from Tsukune, who was still trying to form a coherent chain of thought, so she stammered out "err… um… just as a friend?"

Yukari practically burst with joy as she launched herself at Moka again.

#~#~#~#

As the day wore on, Tsukune got closer and closer to losing control. The annoying little girl had been following them all day. Finally, when she started groping Moka in the middle of the hallway, he snapped. A lash of sizzling magical energy snapped out at the girl's hands, scorching her fingers and forcing her to let go.

"YOW! What was that for?!"

Moka frowned. "Tsukune, that wasn't very nice. Besides, what if you'd hit me?"

He snorted. "It's magic, Moka. Mental control. If I don't want to hit you – and I don't – then I won't. Besides, I think it was justified in the circumstances."

The vampiress remained unconvinced, but the witch quickly got angry. "Oh, so you think of yourself as her protector, do you? Trying to keep her from whatever harm you perceive? Of course you'd attack me if I threaten your being with her. Well, I've got news for you! I know you! Aono Tsukune, rather strong, full capabilities unknown but likely to be quite high. However, average mental capabilities make it highly unlikely you'll be able to beat me in a fight. Brains over brawn! I love Moka, and I won't let you drag her down! That's why I'm declaring war on you! MAGIC WAND!"

A grin had stretched wider and wider on his face as the young girl shouted at him. When she pulled her wand on him, he started laughing. She tilted her head curiously. "What's funny?"

Tsukune laughed harder. "Oh, nothing. Other than the fact that you seriously think you could take me in a fight."

Suddenly, his grin vanished. So did the rest of him, nothing more than a momentary blur signalling his movement. Yukari frowned, then screamed when he tapped her on the neck. "You're dead, little witch. I just took your head off."

Spinning on him, she scowled. "Well, fine. Physical combat isn't my forte anyway. I'll kick you from here to the moon at magic!"

Waving her wand, Tsukune felt her cast a spell, and countered without any conscious thought, his long-trained instincts kicking in. The witch scowled deeper. "How did you do that? You shouldn't be able to counter my spells!"

She tried again, something different, and Tsukune countered just as effortlessly. He smiled condescendingly down at her. "You are easy to predict. I can feel you as soon as you reach for your youkai to cast, and you have neither the skill nor strength to stop me blocking you. If you really want to fight me, you'll have to train for years, and even then your innate power would be no match for mine. I suggest you focus on technique."

Turning on his heel, he began to stride away. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do at the Newspaper Club."

As he walked away, Yukari stared after him blankly, eyes glistening with tears that she struggled to hold back. Moka looked between the two, torn, but after a moment she went to comfort the little witch. Tsukune snorted to himself. As he headed for the clubroom, he thought he felt someone watching him – a strangely cold presence – but he didn't see anyone there, and dismissed it as a byproduct of his irritation.

#~#~#~#

He talked to Kurumu as they worked. It turned out that the young witch was extremely unpopular, not only for her species and know-it-all attitude, but because she played a lot of pranks and generally acted like a spoilt brat. It didn't surprise him, but what did was when his arm started to move of its own accord.

Focusing his attention on it, he found a control spell had attached itself to him without his noticing. He recognized the signature of the magic as being Yukari's, and spent a moment to appreciate the skill she had apparently been hiding, to cast such an invasive spell without his noticing. Of course, it was only a moment, and he broke it with barely a thought when that brief span was over. Ambling to the window, where he had felt the spell's terminus, he calmly reached out and picked up the little witch by her collar, lifting her through the opening and setting her down in front of her.

"I'm trying to do you a favour here, so listen up. If you carry on acting the way you are now, you'll lose any chance of having friends. You'll be alone and isolated, and _trust me _when I say that isn't something you want."

Yukari looked intrigued at the bitterness in his tone and on his face when he spoke of that, but quickly stopped paying attention as he continued "you need to grow up and stop playing such childish tricks. Your magic is not a plaything to be abused as you will. It is a precious gift that you should treat as such."

Moka came in through the door at that point, to find a scowling witch being lectured by a frowning Tsukune. Donning a frown of her own, she walked up to the pair. "What's going on?"

As the young dragon opened his mouth to speak, Yukari butted in. "This idiot's trying to give me a lecture. Well, you know what I say, Tsukune? I don't care if I'm alone. I always have been."

Moka and Tsukune both responded at once. "You're not the only one-"

"If you think you have it badly-"

Each of them looked at the other. Tsukune motioned for Moka to continue, realizing that the little witch was more likely to listen to her than she was to him. Nodding at him gratefully, the pink-haired vampiress resumed speaking. "You aren't the only one who's been alone, Yukari. I went to a human high school. They all hated me there. I had no friends, for most of my life, until I met Tsukune. He's not as bad as you seem to think – far from it. He's been nothing but kind and supportive, even when I haven't deserved it."

Tsukune snorted. "I hardly think I deserve that much praise. I nearly killed you the first time we met. I tried to leave because I assumed the worst of you. Yet despite all that, you stayed by my side, and even managed to convince me to feed you my blood. I have no idea how you managed it, but you got me to go against everything I was raised to believe. My father would kill the both of us in an instant if he knew I was friends with a vampire, that I willingly shared my blood with you. Even knowing that, I don't regret it, and I don't understand why. Before I came here, I'd never had a friend, and then suddenly I have two in the snap of a finger. Both of you are of the sort my father would look down on, would expect me to kill for even daring to try and associate with me so familiarly, and yet I find that I completely disagree with him. I have no idea when that happened, but it did."

All three of the girls in the room were stunned. Moka was the first to break the silence. "Tsukune… I know you said your father hated vampires… but that much?"

A dark laugh. "Moka, he believes that our race is superior above all others, that we are gods on earth and should be idolized, if not outright worshipped. To him, all other monsters, from the strongest vampire to the lowliest rabbit youkai, are inferior and only fit to serve and die at his command. Humans are almost at the bottom of that list; the only race he hates more than humans are the vampires."

Kurumu swallowed nervously. "Then… what will happen if he finds out about Moka? And why does he hate vampires?"

"If he finds out about her, he will try to kill both her and myself. As for why… a few thousand years ago, a vampire managed to create a charm that shielded him from the effects of water. Using this, he challenged my father, and let himself get backed up against a river. My father thought he had the vampire trapped, and charged. The vampire nearly drowned him, took his eye out and extin… er, took a lot of his power. Father can no longer use magic or any of his racial abilities other than the physical and his youkai is less than a third of what it once was. He… harbours quite a grudge."

As he told the story of his father losing an eye, he glanced at Yukari, remembering just in time that she didn't know what he was and that he wanted to keep it that way. Moka, having already heard the story, listened with polite interest, but Kurumu was a lot more intrigued, and Yukari couldn't disguise her curiosity, although she tried. The succubus spoke up with the first question. "A few thousand years ago? Just how old is your father? Come to that, how old are you if he's that old?"

Tsukune laughed. "Father is… ancient. I don't know how old. I'm fifteen… actually, I'm turning 16 soon. But that's beside the point…"

Yukari butted in. "What were you about to say when you changed your words? Does it have something to do with your youkai species? What are you, anyway?"

"Yukari, you know it's against the rules to tell anyone. Moka and Kurumu know because they are my friends and I trust them, and I want them to know. You, however, have attacked me, tried to manipulate me with a control spell and tried to break my friendship with Moka. I don't want you knowing my monster form, and I certainly don't trust you."

The little witch's lip quivered, and suddenly she burst into tears and ran from the room. Moka and Kurumu both rounded on Tsukune. "That was horrible! Tsukune, how could you?"

"Do you really think she needs more difficulty in her life right now? She's got enough going on with all the bullies!"

As the pair continued to scold him, Tsukune reflected on the time he'd similarly hurt Moka, and realized that he needed to work on his social awareness. He'd got better, but he still had significant chunks of his father's attitude colouring his words. He sighed, and resolved to try harder in future. A flash of amusement registered as he thought that, despite his father's influence, he was sitting there taking a verbal beating from a vampire and a succubus without arguing back or attacking them, although he was far from calm. He'd succeeded in throwing off at least some of that influence, then. Progress was progress, no matter what size.

#~#~#~#

Yukari stormed along a deserted pathway, tears clouding her eyes. That stupid boy, what did he know? Why shouldn't she be told his youkai form? He knew hers, after all, and he'd told Moka and Kurumu. Besides, who was she going to tell?

She stopped dead as that last hit her full force. Who _was _she going to tell? She really didn't have any friends. Of course, that was all her own fault, looking back on her actions. And everything Tsukune said… even if it had been rather harsh… had been justified. She'd done all those things he said.

A shadow fell across her, and she looked up to find her class representative towering over her with a thin-lipped, sadistic smile on his face. Slowly, his lackeys moved to surround her.

#~#~#~#

Moka and Kurumu, once they had finished laying into Tsukune, set off to find Yukari, with a strict injunction to the young dragon to remain where he was. Putting his feet up on a desk, he relaxed idly, until a flash of youkai registered a little way off. Then a few more. He recognized monsters releasing their true forms, and felt the distinctive signature of a lizard. A further probe found Yukari's magic right in the middle. His two friends were still a distance off, and probably hadn't noticed. Sighing, he opened the window and jumped out, wings ripping through the back of his shirt and blazer as he swooped at high speed along the path, much to the astonishment of the students below. He knew there'd be a whole new set of rumours going around after this, but he could hardly stand by and let the little witch be ambushed because he'd forced her to run off.

#~#~#~#

Rounding a corner, Moka found Yukari surrounded by lizardmen, getting ready to eat the girl. Her wand lay shattered on the ground nearby. As the leader opened his mouth to strike, she positioned herself between him and the young witch, arms outstretched. She heard Yukari gasp behind her.

"Run! Moka, please run, or you'll be eaten! Forget about me!"

Moka smiled back at her. "It's OK. I'll put myself on the line for you, Yukari. It's alright to ask for help when you can't make it on your own. Be honest… you say you love me, but all you really want is someone to be kind to you. You play those pranks because you want attention."

Yukari was going red, but tried to dismiss it with a wave of her hand. "What are you talking about?! Hurry and get out of here!"

The vampiress shook her head. "I'm not going. I understand, Yukari. You've always been lonely, haven't you? It was tough being all alone, wasn't it? Well, I too have always been alone… that's why I want to help you… and why I'm not going to leave you. One more thing, though – do you know when I stopped being alone? It was when I met Tsukune. I almost ran him over, and attacked him for his blood because I lost control, yet despite that he forgave me, healed me and gave me his blood. He saved me from an ogre – actually, two different ogres - and from Kurumu when she tried to kill me. He saved the other me from giving in to her anger. But most of all… he saved me from being alone. I want the same to happen for you."

One of the lizardmen snarled. "Hey, why are you ignoring us?! What are you blathering about?! Are we some kind of joke to you?"

He lunged, swinging a claw at Moka, only for Yukari to grab his arm and bite it. Growling in anger more than pain, he shook the girl off and went to slice her instead… only for Tsukune to land feet-first on his head with an audible _crack_. Dropping neatly to the ground as the lizardman collapsed in a heap, he retracted his wings with a grin. "Am I too late to join the party?"

Both Yukari and Moka gaped. The lizardmen howled in anger at the death of their leader, and all charged Tsukune, who snorted. Raising his foot in the air, he paused, waiting until they'd almost reached him, then stomped down. The ground shook, knocking the lizards to their knees. Without pausing, he used the impact to launch him in the air, flipping forward and bringing his other leg down in a full-body axe kick that took out the second lizardman.

Still Tsukune didn't stop. His movement blurred as a spear-hand blow collapsed a windpipe. One lizardman sneaking up from behind had his jaw shattered by an elbow strike, then it was followed up with a roundhouse punch that sent him flying into a tree. A back kick took out a third, then lizards four and five, approaching in flanking positions, were downed by two side-thrust fists.

Within moments, all of their enemies but one were unconscious. The final lizardman realised he was standing alone amid his defeated allies and turned to run. Tsukune let him go. "He should spread the story nicely. With luck, people will realize not to mess with my friends."

Yukari looked at him, wide-eyed. "F… friends?"

Tsukune smiled back at her. The witch's lip quivered, and she dissolved into tears.

#~#~#~#


	8. A Dragon's Sparring

_Disclaimer:_I do not own Rosario + Vampire. I do, however, own the specific type of dragon that I am using in this story, my OCs (Tsukune's dragon father and… someone else), as well as the plot elements that I haven't taken from R+V.

I'd just like to throw out a thanks to all those who have followed and favourited my story (special thanks to **Rosario Lover** for taking the time to send me a PM.) I never expected this story to get so popular so quickly… it's only been a week and I've broken 4000 views with 45 follows and 34 favourites. I was expecting a tenth that much, tops. My gratitude to you all for supporting my writing hobby and making it so enjoyable.

If you like Artemis Fowl and Harry Potter (and who doesn't?) then check out my new crossover by tacking this onto the end of the basic url (because it won't let me put in the full address for some reason): s/10218607/1/A-Fowl-Wizard

Finally, before I get any flame about Tsukune being OP, he is _supposed _to be OP. He is a Red Dragon, a member of the most powerful youkai species on Earth. This story is not about his journey to get stronger, but his journey to get better as a person and to throw off his biased and bigoted upbringing and family.

#~#~#~#

The following afternoon, Kurumu and Moka were walking to homeroom. Tsukune had got up early, leaving a note for Moka at their usual meeting spot to tell her not to wait for him. The pair of them were surprised at the sudden change that Yukari had undergone after being saved. Kurumu had heard how she had apologized in front of the whole class for her pranks, and how she had seemingly matured overnight. The latter part died in her throat as they opened the door to their clubroom to find the little witch about to throw herself on Tsukune. "Tsukune, I love youuuu- erk!"

Not so much as glancing in her direction, he had caught her in midair by the top of her head, one-handed. Lowering her to the ground with a sigh, he turned to the two older girls standing frozen in the doorway, made an apologetic face, then looked to Yukari. "Alright, what's this about?"

She giggled. "I loved Moka already, but when you both came to my rescue yesterday… you were so awesome, Tsukune! You took out those lizardmen in seconds! Even after I'd been horrible to you, you still saved me! That's why I fell in love with you too!"

An exasperated growl escaped Tsukune's lips, but he didn't comment, instead standing and walking over to the girls. "Morning, Kurumu. I assume Moka's filled you in on what happened last night?"

The succubus nodded. "Yeah, and not just me. Someone overheard, and apparently a couple of people saw the fight, so now everyone in the academy knows."

Growling again, Tsukune pinched the bridge of his nose. "God _damn _it. The last thing I need is another rumour… never mind, it can't be helped. Moka, just please try to be a little more discreet next time."

Blushing slightly, the pink-haired vampiress nodded. The rosary clinked, somehow managing to convey dissatisfaction, and turned away from him. The young dragon frowned at it. "Silver, is something wrong?"

_Only the fact that when there was _finally _another fight, you didn't let me out. I get bored in here, you know!_

"Sorry, Silver. Tell you what… if you want to fight, I could use a sparring partner. I haven't had a real challenge in far too long."

_Really? You think you can take me?_

"I think I can do more than that, I think I can train you. You need to learn some proper techniques. I've seen you fight twice, albeit briefly, and you have poor form. You've always been pitted against significantly weaker foes where your strength is all you need. In a real fight, you'd be in a lot of trouble. It might look impressive to the lesser youkai, but power isn't everything. Skill and strategy wins more fights than strength."

_Poor form?! Why you –_

"If you're so confident, you should have no trouble in our sparring match. Moka, come to that clearing where we met this evening. I'll let Silver out then."

… _fine._

Moka frowned. "Hey, don't I get a say in this? It's my body too!"

"Do you really think I'd to anything to seriously hurt you?

"…no. But I still don't like it."

_It might your body too, but the 'too' is important. You're out all the time. I've been out twice since you first put that rosary on. I think I should get my chance, shouldn't I?_

The pink-haired vampiress sighed, and gave in. "Fine then. I suppose you're right, you do deserve to have your fun, but I got asked to model for the art teacher this week, so please try not to get beaten up too badly."

_Beaten up?! I'm a vampiress! There's no way I could get so hurt!_

"And he's a dragon! You did hear him say that, right?"

Tsukune smiled as the argument carried on.

#~#~#~#

"What?! All week?"

"Tsukune, I did tell you earlier-"

"No, you said _this _week. Not _all _week!"

Moka frowned. "Why are you so worked up over it?"

"Oh _come on! _You seriously don't… AGH!"

Throwing up his hands, he spun on his heel and walked off. He couldn't quite believe it. It was his birthday in six days. He'd told her before, more than once, and yet she'd still agreed to model for the art teacher. He scowled. Even if she was off modelling all the time, at least he'd get to see Silver.

#~#~#~#

That evening, he flew out to the clearing to meet Moka. As he soared through the night sky, he relished the feel of the rushing air around him, the strange weightlessness that came in flight. Without conscious thought, he called on his inner fire, raising his youkai and pushing it through the underside of his wings to heat the air, giving him more lift. He performed a stunning series of aerobatics - twists and turns, dives and loops, wingovers and snap-rolls – but it was all in idleness. What he really wanted to do was cut loose, let go of his control and resume his dragon form. He enjoyed being human, much to his surprise, but it still wasn't a patch on being a dragon. However, he knew he could never do that here. Resigning himself to remaining crammed inside a tiny form, locking away all but a fragment of his power, he swooped down and landed to find Moka waiting for him.

The pink-haired vampiress was staring with undisguised awe at him, and he realised he had been glowing from the inside as he called up his fire, rendering him visible. She must have been watching him fly, a theory confirmed when she spoke. "Tsukune… that was amazing…"

He waved a hand nonchalantly. "Not really. Slow flights aren't all that hard."

"No, it was really impressive… I wish I could fly like that…"

She looked up with a wistful expression. Even though he was still upset with her, Tsukune couldn't help but smile. "I could take you up one day, if you like."

Now, Moka was looking back at him happily. "Really? Would you? That would be amazing!"

_Can we get on with it, please? I want to fight!_

"Of course, Silver. Sorry, Moka, it's her turn now."

Reaching out, he tugged the rosary off the chain. The vampiress's youkai filled the air as she changed. When the sudden surge died down, she brushed her argent locks away from her face and took up a fighting stance. Tsukune raised an eyebrow. "What sort of a guard do you call that? You're open in more places than I can count."

"**What do you know about it?! I was trained-"**

Her words were cut short as Tsukune blurred into motion, his fist tapping lightly on her ribcage as he pulled his punch. "Six, maybe seven broken ribs. Probably a ruptured lung, possible damage to most of your other internal organs. Completely crushed side, your arm is going to be pretty much useless, and you probably can't take the pain, given you've never been in a serious fight before. You were saying?"

Stepping back, he motioned her to attack. She snarled, unhappy at being so easily shown up, and launched a devastating roundhouse kick. Tsukune sighed and dropped into a low hook kick, spinning on his left leg and sweeping his right just above the ground to collide with Silver's ankle as her foot flashed by overhead. Her leg was pulled out from under her and she fell onto her back with a yelp, but jumped to her feet almost immediately, ignoring Tsukune's offered hand.

"**Alright, so you're fast. I'll give you that, but you are **_**not**_** going to beat me!"**

This time, she held nothing back, letting loose a brutal flurry of kicks from all sides. None of them connected; every single one swept through an afterimage of Tsukune, who had long since moved. With a cry of frustration, she launched into a flying front kick, which was when he struck. Stepping forward, he passed to the outside of the blow and struck down with his elbow, hammering it into the vampiress's stomach. She hit the ground hard, making a small crater, and lay there as she struggled for breath.

Tsukune bent down and pulled her arm over his shoulders, lifting her to her feet against all the protests. "Solar plexus strike. You're going to have a little trouble breathing for a while."

"**I… know… that much!"**

She tried to break away from him, but the lack of breath made her weak and unsteady. The young dragon kept hold of her and took her over to a stump, sitting her down on it. "Well, I had to make sure. You say you were trained, but your teacher can't have been that good. Your technique is sloppy and your physical condition is bad. The only reason you can fight like you do is your vampire strength, and you'll only get so much of that before you're tired. You are in serious need of training."

"**And you think… you can give it to me?"**

The question was accompanied with a foul look, but Tsukune grinned. "I think so, yes. I spent a decade training with the world's best. I know my stuff. You're smart, you shouldn't have too much trouble picking it up."

"**So… how long until I can fight you?"**

"You should be able to pick up some decent techniques in maybe a month or two. That will let you defend. If you want to be strong enough to seriously challenge me, then at least a year, if not two. It will be a lot of effort, but the payoff will be more than worth it."

"**Two years?! I… you… there's no way it would take me that long!"**

Tsukune sighed again. "This is your problem. You are far too proud, refusing to entertain even the slightest notion that someone could be better than you at anything, even when they just comprehensively defeated you without breaking a sweat. You couldn't even see where I was, let alone land a hit. You were looking at afterimages the whole time."

"**Like I said, so you're fast. If I actually hit you, it would be a different story."**

The young dragon raised an eyebrow. "Let's see what you've got, then."

Standing, he faced Silver in a relaxed stance with his guard down. The vampiress, having had enough time to catch her breath, grinned and wound up one of the most powerful kicks she had ever delivered. She'd show the arrogant reptile his place… and since he'd even asked her to do it, she wouldn't get in any trouble for injuring him. Her leg blurred as she put everything she had into one, earth-shattering kick.

A shockwave blasted out, shattering the ground, as Tsukune blocked it one-handed, letting the ankle of the striking foot impact on his wrist. The argent-haired vampiress felt bones shatter in her leg and screamed. Rolling his eyes, the reptilian youkai caught his collapsing friend, laid her gently on the ground, and started examining her leg.

"_**AAGH! **_**I **_**HATE **_**YOU!"**

Sighing, he ignored her ranting and laid a gentle hand over the damaged leg. The fibula and tibia both were shattered badly, little shards of bone stuck in all the wrong places, tearing into muscle, ligament, tendon and cartilage every time they shifted. Summoning up a powerful healing spell, he paused for a moment. "This is going to hurt like hell. I have to put all the shards of bone back in the right place. I'd say feel free to hit me, but I don't want you damaging anything else."

A grin flitted across his face as Silver scowled at him, before he clamped his hand down on her shin and extended his awareness inside it once again. The screams that came from her as he shifted the bone fragments were almost inhuman, and he did what he could to lessen the pain, but he was limited in this form and he had to keep most of his attention on the leg. He couldn't have finished soon enough, but when he did, the leg was intact with no sign of ever having been damaged. The vampiress was unconscious, so he clipped her rosary back on and carried her back to her room.

Everything had gone to plan – the vampiress should have learned a valuable lesson about pride and complacency, and would be driven to train as hard as possible by her desire to beat him. He was looking forward to the point where she would be able to give him a run for his money, though that was a way off yet.

As he walked back to his dorm, he considered the training program he had gone through, and began to make alterations to fit it to the needs of his student.


	9. A Dragon's Birthday

_Disclaimer:_I do not own Rosario + Vampire. I do, however, own the specific type of dragon that I am using in this story, my OCs (Tsukune's dragon father and… someone else), as well as the plot elements that I haven't taken from R+V.

#~#~#~#

I have returned! I can only offer my deepest apologies for such a long absence. This is a short chapter, but longer ones will follow.

#~#~#~#

Special thanks to **keiran aitken **for a nice PM, a thought-provoking question and for mentioning my story in one of his.

Addressing a point from **LordTheadArmageddon**'s review: the different types of dragon have inherently different strengths, and I'm sticking to that. Reds are, physically, the most powerful dragons.

_However, _their racial ability is actually quite poor – they can blast a jet of superhot fire. Other abilities are far more useful – blues can set up defensive fields of electricity, attack with lighting over a far greater range with much more precision, power devices, even defibrillate hearts. Greens can poison or heal with their mist breath, make plants grow faster and more fruitfully, communicate with animals, and so on. Yellows can create illusions, blind people, see what's going on anywhere touched by the sun (admittedly with proportionate effort to distance, location and wards) and so on. Blacks can create darkness or misty clouds of vision-obscuring, lung-burning, eye-watering smoke, and can travel through shadows and darkness, as well as manipulating people through their fears and darkest desires. I could go on, but you should get the picture – in terms of strength, Reds are best, but other dragons are far more versatile with both their natural abilities and their magical affinity. Reds just kill things by hitting them or burning them, whether it be with dragon breath or fire spells.

That said, they do learn a wide variety of magical and sometimes mundane skills, so they aren't just stuck as killing machines, but inherently their versatility pays for their strength and they have to work harder to achieve the same range of ability.

**Awesomenemo**, the entire point of this story is that dragons have very few weaknesses and that his psyche is the main thing causing him problems. I never said he didn't have _any_ weaknesses. I specifically stated that his fire could be extinguished. By extension, he'll only be able to cope with so much cold. He can still be suffocated. He couldn't survive being thrown into space for more than a short period. If you manage to get down his throat, you could probably do a horrible amount of damage from inside him. Loud and/or high-pitched noises and bright lights will still disorient and blind him. Concussive blasts can still cause internal damage. Radiation can still make him ill.

The only thing that's different is that he has a much higher tolerance to these things. It's still perfectly feasible to kill a dragon (otherwise all those bigoted lizards would have taken over the world by now), it just takes a lot of power.

#~#~#~#

The next morning, Moka didn't show up at their usual meeting spot. After fifteen minutes had passed, Tsukune's patience snapped and he cast out a pulse of youkai that expanded in a ring and caused a flaring reaction from everyone it touched. It was flashy and unnecessary, but a little intimidation never hurt. At first, the returning signatures were unfamiliar, but Moka finally showed up.

She was in the art block.

Cursing under his breath in the dragon tongue – a language whose insults were complex, in-depth and very, very long – he stalked in the direction of the low buildings set off to one side of the campus. Though he didn't realise it, his frustration was making his youkai bubble, and everyone instinctively shied away from him as he swore his way across campus. He was so annoyed that his control slipped a little, and his eyes went gold and slitted.

_Can't even be bothered to meet me in the morning… ignores my birthday to go modelling… practically uses me as a juice box… why do I even bother?!_

When he reached the area, he found Moka just leaving, with the art teacher standing in the door for a few parting words. His nostrils flared. As a dragon, his sense of smell was more acute than almost anyone, and right then it was telling him to be wary. There was a dry, reptilian smell, one he would normally enjoy, but this one was corrupted, almost, with something burning and acrid. There was a scent of stone mixed in, too, though that wouldn't be too unusual if there was sculpture going on. The combination sparked a hazy recognition, but he couldn't pin it down, so he dismissed it. After all, he was a dragon. What could possibly threaten him?

He watched the vampiress skip off down the path towards the school – not bothering to go and look for him, he noted – and the art teacher turned back inside. Something about her grated on his senses, but like the smell it was too insubstantial to bother with. Shrugging, he moved away, breaking into a jog in order to get to classes on time.

#~#~#~#

Given that Fate seemed to have it in for him (coming here in the first place, used as a juice box by a vampire, rapist orc, perveted werewolf and not to mention the succubus and ridiculously young witch), it was unsurprising that he had art classes that day. That the art teacher was popular among the students only served to rub salt into the wound – one girl went as far to say she was skiving gym to come and model. Letting loose a particularly vehement draconic expletive under his breath (not that it would have mattered, as nobody could have understood it), he turned back to his Basilisk sculpture. He couldn't make one of a dragon, since they were hated and feared by almost everyone, but the Great Serpents were not so taboo, and one of the few youkai he respected unconditionally.

Looking around, he surreptitiously extended a claw for the fine detail. Rules or no, he wouldn't make anything less than a perfect sculpture for his fellow reptiles.

#~#~#~#

The next Newspaper Club meeting was more serious than most. Several girls had gone missing, and Gin wanted to find them. Tsukune almost raised his opinion of the guy, but then he found that his only motivation was that they might be… _grateful_. Snorting in exasperation, he went through the pictures. None of them were people he particularly recognized, except when he got to the last one. It was the girl who had said she'd be modelling for the art teacher yesterday.

And then she'd disappeared.

_Come to think of it… isn't Moka modelling there right now?_

He paled, and, wrapping himself in the strongest invisibility spell he knew, he headed for the art block.

#~#~#~#

When he entered, it was immediately apparent that something was very wrong. The acrid smell from before was almost overpowering, and the scent of stone, now that he was closer, seemed to be almost mixed with the odour of flesh. Ghosting into a back room, he stopped dead.

All the missing girls were there, turned to stone and weeping constantly. The art teacher was spinning in the middle of the room, arms outstretched, in the middle of a maniacal monologue as Moka was suspended in front of her by a plethora of snakes sprouting from the woman's skull.

"Oh, this is art! The beauty of it, these girls trapped forever in cold stone! Their warm hearts locked away, to weep forevermore! And this next one will be my crowning glory… you, my little vampiress, will look so good in granite!"

_Medusa._

Seeing red, Tsukune's claws flashed out and ripped across the woman's scalp, ripping away at least half her snakes. She screamed in agony, and he dropped his spell, bursting into his half-dragon form. Several snakes broke their fangs on his scales as he roared in fury. The woman's face contorted in a rage to match his own. "Interfering lizard! Fine, I'll just move up my plans!"

Even as those words and their repercussions ran through his head, a snake lunged for Moka. Despite his speed, he couldn't get there in time and the petrifying poison immediately began to spread through the girl. Contemptuously ripping the snakes from around her, he carefully set her against the wall and, with an injunction not to move, turned back to the Medusa.

She charged him, snakes snapping, and a good two dozen fangs soon littered the floor. He reached out and picked her up by the neck, one-handed, eyes burning with suppressed fury. **"Nobody – and I mean **_**nobody **_**– messes with my friends and gets away with it. You should have been more careful, filth. Now you pay the price."**

His throat expanded, and a blazing white bled through the gaps between his scales as heat roared up his throat. Dragon Fire was hotter than anything else on Earth, reaching temperatures usually only seen in stars. The Medusa was not afforded the mercy of a quick death, however, as only the tiniest wisp was spat into her face. It latched on and began eating in, sustaining itself from her flesh, and she fell to the floor screaming, scrabbling away incoherently and staggering off, clawing at the burning remnants of her once-beautiful visage.

He returned to Moka, clawed feet pulverising the wreckage caused by the flailing snakes. She shrank away slightly from the furious snarl on his face, but the golden light around his hands quickly quelled her fears and returned her petrified flesh to normal.

#~#~#~#

The school nurse had, much to Moka's distress, insisted on keeping her under observation for a day, along with all the other petrified girls, and she only quieted down once she'd had a whispered conversation with Kurumu. As the night passed, Tsukune remained by her bedside, returning to his half-dragon form once everyone was asleep so that he could inspect his scales. The Medusa hadn't been strong enough to hurt him, but it paid to be careful.

When morning rolled around, Kurumu entered carrying a cloth-covered something, and passed it to Moka, who sat up in bed. She smiled at Tsukune, and pulled the cover off with a flourish, revealing a portrait of him. Her smile turned shy, and her voice was almost inaudible as she mumbled "I did the modelling in exchange for painting lessons so I could do this. Happy birthday… Tsukune?"

He was staring numbly at the portrait. This was the first time he'd ever had a birthday present. His father, old as he was, never paid them any attention and expected the same of his son. Slowly, a smile spread across his face and he pulled the vampiress into a hug. She squeaked in surprise, but nevertheless returned it.

As always, he'd been wrong to doubt her.


End file.
